That we’re already halfway through 2021 is hard to believe! The winter solstice in the Southern Hemisphere has come and gone and the days will slowly start to get longer. The mornings and evenings in Hwange are crisp, dry and bitterly cold – so cold that Gary complains his fingers might freeze and snap off. But it doesn’t take long for the sun to work its magic and by midday it’s gloriously warm.
Work in recent months has revolved around the fireguards which this year has proved challenging. In the Main Camp area, 220 km of roads and firebreaks have been cleared of rocks and dead wood under the watchful eye of a couple of armed Park’s Rangers. Prolific rains earlier in the year resulted in rank vegetation with many fallen branches, much leafy overgrowth and very tall grass. A tractor with disc harrow has been used to clear much of this. Most places were harrowed twice, but sometimes a third run was necessary to achieve the required width for an effective firebreak. Controlled burning is underway to create a cleared space 300 metres wide all the way from Shapi to Ngamo. Blowers are effective in making sure the fires don’t get out of control although the acquisition of a few extra blowers would make the task much easier. Progress has been slow as sufficient labour to help complete the job has been scarce. The work is dirty, hot and tense but is also essential – and so the team cracks on….
There are still some pools of natural water dotted around in places but they’re drying up fast although the pans with solar water pumps are brim full. Game generally remains dispersed but as the dry season progresses elephants have started returning from the south and it should not be long before many other animals start to congregate round the solar pumped pans.
Basic maintenance and refurbishment of the picnic sites is well overdue. Work on this has commenced although is being hampered by insufficient labour as well as by tourist arrivals. In conjunction with Parks staff, the aim is to make the camps both safe and comfortable. Funds for this project are badly needed, and as we can’t expect foreigners that don’t visit the park to fund it, and as Zim Parks don’t have the resources, local participation is key. Please help us to make your camping experience in the Park a good one.
Other work ongoing:
- The Main Camp Clinic is being kept stocked up with necessary drugs and other medical supplies
- Ranger Ration packs have been distributed to National Parks and Forestry Rangers in the southern areas of the park for another month
- Work to protect critically endangered Vultures as well as other vulnerable bird species is ongoing
- Deployment of Park’s rangers, anti-poaching and animal rescue work continues
Mining in HNP.
The following is an excerpt from the Bhejane Trust newsletter as of May 2021:
“Bhejane Trust was contacted by SustiGlobal, an EIA company, reference a new mining exploration grant by the President to a Chinese company, Afrochine, in the Deka Safari Area – Afrochine apparently require coal for a chrome smelter they are building in Selous.
This concession would have brought coal mining right to the Sinamatella boundary. It appears the government has differentiated between National Parks and National Parks estates on the no mining ban, and it appears that areas of the National Parks estates that are not classified as National Parks, eg safari areas, are open to mining exploitation.
We were obviously dismayed! However, then came the good news – after all the geological surveys were completed, we were advised by SustiGlobal that:
“The project mainly involves exploration of coal in 225ha portion of 3,710ha of (SG 8477). The 225ha (about 7km by 300m stretch) of 3710ha constitute 6% of the SG which falls in the State Lands. The remaining 94% of the SG that falls in Deka Safari area hosts a hard rock without coal as such it will not likely be affected”
This mine will bring the Chinese onto the Parks boundary though, and this presence obviously poses a severe threat to the rhino, elephant and other wildlife in the area.”
Through the hard times and sometimes the despondency of wondering at the struggle to get necessary work done, it is prudent to remember the things we hold dear:
Our high, clear skies, whether deep blue at midday, liquid gold at sunset, or velvet black and filled with stars; the bouquet of dust and of various wild herbs and plants native to the bush with sometimes a whiff of something dead; jackals calling as the sun goes down, a lion’s roar reverberating in the night and the eerie whoops of hyenas; the screech of a barn owl; droplets of dew shimmering on spiders’ webs in the early morning light; the striped black and white hide of the zebra, the inquisitive gaze of the giraffe, the lilac and turquoise flash of the roller; the timeless and beautiful changing of the seasons. These are the sights and sounds of nature, both seen and unseen, that abound all around us.
The anticipation of a new day in the chill of early dawn; the smell of freshly brewed coffee over an early morning fire; the tingling scent of wood-smoke drifting in the evening air mingling with the aroma of a supper time braai; the wide open spaces.
Surely this is life at its best?
We are indebted to ZimParks with whom we work very closely.
